Think of a really massive spider and chances are something like Shelob from The Lord of the Rings comes to mind. You know, something ranging from horrific to the liquids inside of my body have literally just frozen with fear. But there’s a real-life gigantic arachnid in Queensland Australia that, despite being as big as a round shield, isn’t—at least according to its rescuer—to be feared at all.
The giant Huntsman spider, which comes via The Dodo, was rescued by Barnyard Betty’s Rescue in Queensland, and was nicknamed Charlotte, presumably after Charlotte’s Web. Barnyard Betty’s Rescue Facebook page notes that she’s been released back into the wild now (which is much better than in your cupboard–don’t look!), but that while she was in their care, she “was a beautiful, calm spider, not aggressive in any way and like most spiders… just wanted to go about her business eating bugs and living in peace.”
And really, if you take a few moments to stare into Charlotte’s eight innocent eyes, and take in her big, furry palps, maybe you can get past that urge you have right now to immediately click away from this page and also check underneath all your furniture with a big broom in your hand. Charlotte loves you, maybe. And Huntsman spider venom only causes nausea, irregular pulse rate, vomiting, headache and heart palpitations–not even any necrosis.
It is admirable of Barnyard Betty’s Rescue to take in Charlotte and push to make big spiders a little more palatable, but we’re going to need a lot more cute photos to make up for this:
What do you think about this humongous Huntsman spider? Release your thoughts back into the wilds of the comments section below!
Images: Facebook / Barnyard Betty’s Rescue
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